Minorities have to be treated as weaker sections: NCM tells Supreme Court

New Delhi: The National sion for Minorities (NCM) has told the Supreme Court that minorities have to be treated as the weaker sections in the country, where majority community is so predominant.

The NCM said despite the safeguards provided in the Constitution and the laws in force there persist amongst the minorities a feeling of inequality and discrimination.

In a country like India where the majority community is predominant, the minorities have to be treated as the weaker sections within the meaning of Article 46, the NCM said in an affidavit.

In 40-page affidavit, it stated that numerically smaller or weaker classes are bound to be suppressed and overpowered by the dominant majority groups if special provisions and schemes were not framed by the government. The submission was made in an affidavit filed in response to a petition which said welfare schemes cannot be based on religion.

Article 46 states that "The State shall promote with special care the educational and economic interests of the weaker sections of the people, and, in particular, of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes, and shall protect them from social injustice and all forms of exploitation."

The NCM also contended that it was founded with objective to integrate minority in the main stream to improve their social and economic status.

It also clarified that it does not administer any scheme nor provides grant to any community and in fact it is the government which runs schemes for them.

Earlier, the Centre had told the top court that welfare schemes for religious minority communities are legally valid which aims to reduce the inequalities and does not violate the rights of members of Hindus or other communities.

"It is submitted that the schemes being implemented by the Ministry are to reduce the inequalities among the minority communities and to improve the level of education, participation in employment, skill and entrepreneurship development, reducing deficiencies in civic amenities or infrastructure.

"The schemes are not in contradiction to the principles of equality as enshrined in the Constitution. These schemes are legally valid as they are only enabling provisions so as to achieve inclusiveness and do not suffer from any infirmity. The support given to disadvantaged/ underprivileged children /candidates of minorities communities through these schemes cannot, therefore, be faulted with," the affidavit

had stated.